Paris, June 2024. The 10th Assembly of States Parties to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention was the appropriate setting to present the advances that demonstrate Cuba's commitment to this Instrument, which were widely presented by Ambassador Maria del Carmen Herrera Caseiro in her speech at the meeting.
“In the biennium we are analyzing, our country has promoted numerous and diverse actions to enhance the visibility of the Convention, has inscribed new elements on the list of world intangible cultural heritage and has expanded the national regulatory framework for the protection and conservation of cultural and natural heritage, including the management and safeguarding of intangible assets,” explained the representative of Cuba.
In this regard, the Cuban diplomat referred to the adoption and entry into force of the General Law for the Protection of Cultural Heritage and Natural Heritage, as a transcendental step in the consolidation of the Cuban State's policy to protect the cultural and natural legacy of the nation. Likewise, she highlighted the celebration of the centenary of the birth of Dr. Marta Arjona Pérez, an outstanding personality of Cuban culture, as an important space for carrying out promotional actions and presenting experiences in the management of the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage.
At the same time, she celebrated the declaration of two new elements on the list of intangible cultural heritage, the Knowledge of the masters of light rum in 2022 and the Bolero, presented jointly with Mexico in 2023, and referred to the presentation this year of the candidacy of Cuban Son and the Casabe, the latter as a multinational candidacy, together with Venezuela, Honduras, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
On the other hand, she highlighted the initiatives undertaken within the framework of the Cuban Presidency of the Group of 77 and China, including the holding in Havana of a meeting of Ministers of Culture, within the framework of which a Final Declaration was adopted that recognizes the importance of the safeguarding and protection of intangible cultural heritage, as well as the role of international cooperation in the matter.
She praised the firm political will of the Cuban government and the great efforts carried out to promote and materialize initiatives within the framework of the Convention and to safeguard the national heritage, in the midst of the difficult circumstances derived from the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States government, aggravated by the unjust inclusion of Cuba in the arbitrary list of States supposedly sponsoring terrorism.